I recently discovered the unique concept of Car O Bar - driving around a city, parking up, having a quick drink (not the driver of course) and jumping out to great small bites from roadside vendors before taking off again and repeating. It is something I had never heard of before and sounds like an Indian custom I would love to try out. However, this article (dated quite a long time ago, 2004 apparently) from the Times of India says that Car O Bar is on the wane and might be overtaken by trendy pubs. Car-o-bar on the decline - Times of India I live in a country overwhelmed by pubs, so I was looking for something markedly different for a night out when I go to India next year. Does anyone know whether Car O Bar is still popular anywhere?
Friends meet up after work in the evening and would drive to some tandoori chicken stall or something and park their car on the road side or parking area and drink inside the car or stand outside and keep bottles and glasses on the roof (including the driver of course). In Delhi for example, this is what people do. This used to be a bit of a problem until 7-8 years ago when police used to turn a blind eye but police has started cracking down on people drinking in their cars now. Drinking and driving attracts stricter punishment now which is one of the main reason why less and less people do this. Car O Bar is not what we call it, writer intended pun when he/she wrote that article. Saying Car-0-bar in Hindi would mean "business" or employment depending upon what context the word is being used and has nothing to do with drinking or driving.
Thanks Chahal, that's really good to know. I guess it was always going to be prevented as there would inevitably be drivers who would drink when their friends would. That is fascinating that the term means business - I often think wordplay is unique to the English language, but clearly it isn't. Would you say it is still popular to go to several eating establishments in an evening, rather than spending the night in one place?
I think it would be a better option to find some local friends and just do some simple pub crawls. From my own experience and what was relayed to me from other travelers, it is easy enough to hide your beverages by drinking out of a water bottle, or such. Drink out in public, go between food stalls, and just have fun. But don't get drunk and make a mess of things. That will get you in trouble.
